Shallow Water Anchor System For Fishing Boats

ABSTRACT

A shallow water anchor system provides an upper arm having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the upper arm hingedly attached to a hull of the boat whereby the upper arm is adapted to move between a raised position and a lowered position; a lower arm having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the lower arm hingedly attached to the hull of the boat at a point lower on the boat than the upper arm; a cross beam hingedly attached between the distal end of the upper arm and the distal end of the lower arm; an actuator adapted to move the upper arm between the raised position and the lowered position, the actuator hingedly attached to the hull of the boat at the proximal end of the lower arm and further hingedly attached to the distal end of the upper arm; and a rod affixed to the distal end of the lower arm, wherein the rod is adapted to engage the bottom when the upper arm is in the lowered position.

This is a Continuation in Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/354,819 filed Jan. 16, 2009; which application claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/068,087 filed Mar. 5, 2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of anchoringdevices for marine vessels, and, in particular, to an articulated anchorsystem adapted to hold a small boat in a stationary position in shallowwater.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Along many coastal areas of the United States, and in certain lakes andestuaries, fishermen fish from small boats in shallow water. In thesetypes of fishing areas, there are extensive shallow, sandy-bottomed orgrassy-bottomed regions, generally referred to as flats, that arepopulated by various sport fish. Fishermen who fish these flats oftenuse one or another of several methods of holding a boat at a selectedlocation. These methods include the use of conventional anchors, the useof a pole shoved into the bottom and secured to the boat, or othermethods.

As described by Oliverio et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,730, the use ofanchors such as a Danforth or a similar type of anchor by flatsfishermen has several shortcomings. First, such types of anchor do notfirmly fix the position of the boat so that the boat can may drift atthe end of the anchor line. Second, when setting and retrieving ananchor, the anchor's flukes may rip sea grass out of the bottom andcause ecological damage. Finally, when the anchor is hauled in, mud andsea grass from the anchor can foul the inside of the boat.

Other means of securing a boat in shallow water include a pole-likestructure to which the both may be secured. In addition to Oliverio etal., other references dealing with similar means include U.S. Pat. No.458,473 wherein MacDonald describes a jointed structure hinged to asubmersible coastal artillery battery and comprising a pole insertedinto the bottom of a shallow body of water. Other elongate pole-likeanchoring mechanisms not hingedly secured to a vessel are taught byMestas et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,064 and by Stokes in U.S. Pat. No.4,702,047. Mechanisms other than anchors that are hingedly attached to avessel hull are taught, inter alia, by Alexander, in U.S. Pat. No.2,816,521 and by Sherrill in U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,928, both of whom showstem stabilizers, and by Doerffer, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,808, who showsa braking device.

Unfortunately, the structure of Oliverio et al. requires an upper armand a lower arm which together form a parallelogram, with one side ofthe parallelogram anchored to the transom of the boat, and the oppositeside of the parallelogram retaining a rigidly fixed anchor pole. Withthis structure, the total range of movement of the mechanism is bynecessity approximately 150°. This severely limits the depth at whichthe anchor may be effectively used. Further, this structure is heavy,due in large part to the number of structure elements which are requiredin order for the anchor to properly function. Finally, the structureshown and described in Oliverio et al. is rigidly dictated in themounting of the parallelogram to the transom of the boat. In order toadapt the mounting of the structure to a boat with any slant other thanthat predetermined by the structure requires shims and adapter plates toarrange the anchor pole to the proper deployed position.

Thus, there remains a need for a shallow water anchor that provide arange of movement of 180°, or even more, to maximize the effect depth ofthe anchor. The anchor should preferably be light-weight to make theanchor easier to use and make the most of the prime mover of themechanism. The mounting structure of the apparatus should also easilyadapt the mount to any reasonable slant of the transom relative to thesurface of the water. The present invention is directed to filling thatneed in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The shallow water anchor shown and described below solves these andother drawbacks of known anchor systems by providing a single armarrangement with a fixed end of the arm mounted to the transom of a boatand the distal end of the arm retaining a rod adapted to be buried intothe bottom of a lake, estuary, or other shallow body of water. The fixedend of the arm includes a first sheave and the distal end of the armincludes a second sheave, with a cable under tension between the firstand second sheaves. A hydraulic operating mechanism drives a slidingblock clamped to the cable. A hydraulic pressure is applied to one sideor the other of a hydraulic piston with a cylinder to drive theoperating mechanism, the sliding block moves back and forth therebymoving the arm up and down in a rotary motion about a shaft on the fixedend of the arm. In the down position, the rod is embedded into thebottom. In the stowed position, the arm is oriented straight up in avertical position.

By providing a single arm for retaining the rod, the entire mechanismcan be made much lighter. This also means that the hydraulic means canbe much more efficiently used. Further, by using the cable and sheavearrangement, a much shorter hydraulic cylinder stroke is required tomove the arm, which results in a faster deployment of the rod (3 secondsvs. 6 seconds for known anchor systems). The mounting system for thefixed end of the arm provides for an adjustment, so that the system canbe easily mounted to various angles of transom for boats without anyshims of adapting brackets. A shear pin is provided for the outer sheaveto reduce the likelihood of damages to the rod if the boat should beunderway with the rod deployed. A spring-loaded flexible subsystem forthe arm may be used, to help keep the boat in place when the boat issubjected to wave action.

These and other features and advantages of this invention will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages andobjects of the present invention are attained and can be understood indetail, more particular description of the invention, briefly summarizedabove, may be had by reference to embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side, elevation view showing the anchor in severalpositions.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the presently preferred embodiment ofthe anchor in a horizontal position.

FIG. 2A is a detail side view of a sliding block portion of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a sectional top view as indicated by section lines 3-3 in FIG.2

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view showing the device in a partially raisedposition.

FIG. 5 is a sectional top detail view as indicated by section lines 5-5in FIG. 6, showing the fixed end of the main arm in more detail.

FIG. 6 is a sectional side detail view as indicated by section lines 6-6in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a sectional top view as indicated by section lines 7-7 in FIG.8, showing the distal end of the main arm in more detail.

FIG. 8 is a sectional detail view as indicated by section lines 8-8 inFIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is side view of another presently preferred embodiment of thedevice in a partially deployed position.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 9 in a deployedposition.

FIG. 11 is a side section view showing details of the function of theembodiment of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a side section view showing details of the function of theembodiment of FIG. 9 in choppy water.

FIG. 13 is side section view of a parallelogram embodiment, modifiedwith the improvement of FIG. 9.

FIG. 14 is a top section detail view of a presently preferred distal endof the device.

FIG. 15 is a side detail view of the embodiment of FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a side detail view of the embodiment of FIG. 14 in adifferent position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates shallow anchor system constructed in accordance withthe teachings of this invention. The system includes a main arm 10 whichis rotatably attached by a fixed end 20 to a mounting bracket 12. Themounting bracket 12 in turn is fixedly attached to a transom 14 of afishing boat 16. By a power mechanism, preferably a hydraulic means asdescribed below, the arm 10 is rotated into various positions such as A,B, and C, for example. When the arm is in position A, the anchor systemis in the stowed position, as it would be when not in use, such as forexample while the boat is under powered motion. Position B of the arm isan intermediate position, for illustration purposes extendinghorizontally. When the arm 10 is in position C, the arm is partiallylowered to a deployed orientation.

Opposite the fixed end 20 of the arm 10 is a distal end 22. A rod 18which is rotatably connected to the distal end 22 of the arm 10 in amanner to maintain a vertical orientation for the rod 18 in allpositions of the arm 10, described below in greater detail. The rod 18is driven into the bottom 24 of the lake or other body of water, therebyanchoring the boat 16 at a location dictated by the operator.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate certain details of the preferred structure ofthe arm 10 and its mounting. Referring first to the fixed end 20 of thearm 10, the bracket 12 (see FIG. 1) includes a base plate 26, which isfixed to the transom 14 of the boat 16, such as for example by bolts orother fixing means. A pair of parallel forks 28 extend outwardly fromthe base plate a distance sufficient to receive a shaft 30. The shaft 30is clamped to the forks 28 by retainers 32 so that the shaft 30 remainsin a fixed relation to the bracket 12, i.e., the shaft 30 does notrotate relative to the forks 28. A first cable sheave 34 is mounted onthe shaft 30 and also pinned to the shaft so that it cannot rotate.However, rotation of the arm 10 to the various positions shown in FIG. 1is provided by the mounting of a tubular member 36 to the shaft 30 (seealso FIGS. 5 and 6).

Referring now to the distal end 22 of the arm 10, a second cable sheave38 is rotatably mounted to the tubular member 36. The second sheave 38is of the same diameter as the sheave 34. A cable 42 is slung around thesheaves 34 and 38. Pairs of idling sheaves 40, one pair at the fixed end20 and one pair at the distal end 22, direct the cable 42 into theinside of tubular member 36. Sleeves 44, one sleeve at each end of thearm 10, are swaged onto the cable 42. Each sleeve 44 is nestled inside anotch 46 of its respective sheave 34 or 38 to prevent the cable 42 fromslipping relative to the sheave. Tension to the cable 42 is preferablyapplied by a mechanism as described below in reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

A sliding block 50 is positioned inside the tubular member 36. Thesliding block 50 is preferably attached to the cable 42 by means of aclamp 52 or other appropriate means. Note, however, that the slidingblock 50 defines a through-passage 59 through which the cable returnpasses without obstruction. In this way, movement of the sliding blockin one direction pulls the cable at the clamp 52 in that direction. Thetubular member 36 includes an opening 54 to provide access to the clamp52 for assembly and repair of the device.

A hydraulic cylinder mechanism 55 is mounted with its cylinder end 56coupled to the tubular member 36. A piston rod 72 (see FIG. 4) extendsfrom the mechanism 55 and terminates at a rod end 58 which is coupled toone side of the sliding block 50. A tension spring 60 is attached to theother side of sliding block 50 at one end of the spring 60 and to afixed point of the tubular member 36 adjacent the distal end 22 of thearm. The tension of the spring 60 is sufficient to hold the arm 10 in ahorizontal position, shown as position B in FIG. 2.

To move the arm to the various positions shown in FIG. 1, the hydrauliccylinder mechanism 55 is actuated. In other words, when hydraulicpressure is applied to the piston of the cylinder 55, the rod 72 movesto the right, thereby forcing the sliding block 50 to the right as well,as viewed in FIG. 2. This motion of the sliding block pulls the cablearound the sheaves 34 and 38 in a clockwise direction, thus causing thearm 10 to rotate counter-clockwise around sheave 34, assisted by thetension of the spring 60. Hydraulic pressure to the other side of thecylinder piston 55 causes the sliding block 50 to be forced to the left,thus causing arm 10 to rotate clockwise, or downward, moving the rod 18toward engagement with the lake bottom 24.

A bracket 70 is attached to the sheave 38 to hold rod 18 in a fixedrelation to the sheave 38. Since the sheaves 34 and 38 are connected bythe cable 42, and the sheave 34 cannot rotate, the sheave 38 also willnot rotate, as the arm 10 moves up or down by rotating around the shaft30. Thus, since the sheave 38 does not rotate, the bracket 70 also doesnot rotate and the rod 18 will always maintain its vertical orientation.

FIG. 4 shows the anchor mechanism partially raised or rotatedcounter-clockwise around shaft 30. The cylinder rod 72 has been extendedin a direction indicated by the number 74, pushing the sliding block 50to the right, assisted by contracting the spring 60, thus lifting thearm 10 up and pulling the rod 18 away from the lake bottom.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate more details of the fixed end 20 of the arm 10.The shaft 30 defines knurled ends (78), where the shaft 30 is engaged bythe clamps 32, to retain the shaft 30 in locking engagement with theforks 28 of the mounting bracket 12. The locking engagement of the shaftis assisted by a pair of set-screws 80. The sheave 34 is connected tothe shaft 30 by a pin 82 so that the sheave 34 is prevented fromrotating as arm 10 rotates up or down. This arrangement allows an angleα (see FIG. 2) to be adjusted according to the angle of the boattransom, against which the mounting plate must be mounted. The angle αis adjusted by loosening the clamps 32 (including the set screws 80),rotating the arm 10 into a perfectly vertical position A (as shown inFIG. 1) while the cylinder rod 72 is completely extended, andre-tightening the clamps 32 and set-screws 80.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show the distal end 22 of the arm 10 in more detail,specifically the tensioning means for the cable 42. The sheave 38rotates relative to a shaft 90. Outer ends 92 of the shaft 90 extendinto a pair of opposing plates 94, which are slidably held inside thetubular member (36). Bridge bars 96 rest against the open ends 98 of thetubular member 36 and provide a fixed base toward which the opposingplates 94 can be pulled by a set of bolts 100. The bolts screw into theopposing plates 94 and as the bolts are turned in a clockwise direction,the plates are moved to the right as seen in FIGS. 7 And 8, thus forcingthe shaft 90 and therefore the sheave 38 to the right and increasingtension of the cable 42.

As previously described, a cable is preferably used as the connectingmeans between sheaves 34 and 38 for economic reasons; however a muchmore expensive arrangement consisting of chain and sprockets is alsopossible, expensive because of the environment in which this anchor willbe used, all materials used must non-corroding, like aluminum, stainlesssteel, bronze and plastic. Thus, as used herein, the term “continuousloop of material” refers to a cable, a chain, or other means of engagingthe sheaves 34 and 38. The cable 42 shown in FIG. 2 is continuous, eventhought it is preferably constructed of cable cut to length, and formedinto a loop by a joining member 43.

The anchor system thus far described and as shown in FIGS. 1 thru 8works well in calm water. When there is wave action though, the rod 18may be pulled out of the bottom 24 by waves lifting up boat 16 to whichthe anchor is attached. While this problem cannot be completelyeliminated, such as when the boat is in a storm, the problem can bealleviated by the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 12. Thisembodiment provides a flexible connection between piston rod 72 and thecable 42. The piston rod 72 is extended beyond and through the slidingblock 50 and the rod is provided with collars 106 and 108. A compressionspring 110 is placed between the collar 108 and sliding block 50.

In FIG. 9, the rod 72 from the cylinder 55 is 50% extended so thetubular member 36 is in a horizontal position. In this position, thecompression spring 110 is partially compressed. To lower the anchor to aposition as shown in FIG. 10 where the rod 18 is embedded into thebottom 24, the piston rod 72 is further retracted into the cylinder 55,the sliding block 50 is moved and has pulled on the cable 42 to rotatethe arm 10 clockwise around sheave 34. Continued supply of hydraulicfluid to the cylinder 55 forces the rod 72 to retract further until thecollar 106 reaches its end position against the cylinder 55, asillustrated in FIG. 11. While the sliding block 50 is unable to move,and thus sheave 34 is also held in place, the arm 10 rotates clockwiseand maintains contact with bottom 24 through the compression spring 110being compressed between the collar 108 and the block 50.

FIG. 12 illustrates conditions where wave action lowers boat 16 but therod 18 is stuck in the ground so it cannot go any lower. Under thoseconditions, the anchor 10 must rotate counter-clockwise around thesheave 34, which reduces the distance between the block 50 and thecollar 108, compressing the spring 110 even more. When wave actioncauses the boat 16 to rise, the stored energy in the spring 110 pushesthe block 50 toward the distal end of the arm.

This feature of the present invention may also be applied to knownstructures, as shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 illustrates an anchor using aparallelogram 118 of links to maintain a vertical position of aground-engaging rod 120. The motion of the rod 120 is caused by acylinder assembly 122, which changes the distance D between opposingpivot points 124 and 126. When the rod 120 has engaged the bottom 130and the parallelogram 118 has reached a fixed configuration, energy canbe stored in a spring 128 by further retracting a piston rod 132 andcompressing the spring 128. This energy can be used to reduce thedistance D, thus pushing the rod 120 down when wave action lifts boat134 up.

The parallelogram comprises an upper arm 200 having a proximal end 202and a distal end 204. The proximal end of the upper arm is hingedlyattached to a hull of the boat 134 whereby the upper arm is adapted tomove between a raised position and a lowered position as previouslydescribed. A lower arm 206 defines a proximal end 208 and a distal end210. The proximal end 208 of the lower arm 206 is hingedly attached tothe hull of the boat at a point lower on the boat than the upper arm, asshown in FIG. 13. A cross beam 212 is hingedly attached between thedistal end 204 of the upper arm 200 and the distal end 210 of the lowerarm 206. The cylinder assembly 122 includes an actuator adapted to movethe upper arm between the raised position and the lowered position. Theactuator is hingedly attached to the hull of the boat at the proximalend 208 of the lower arm 206 and is also hingedly attached to the distalend 204 of the upper arm 200. The rod 120 is affixed to the distal end210 of the lower arm 206 so that the rod is adapted to engage the bottomwhen the upper arm is in the lowered position.

The hydraulic piston assembly 122 is affixed to the hull of the boat atthe proximal end 208 of the lower arm 206 and includes the rod 132extending from the assembly 122. The rod 132 terminates in a guidepiston 220. A receiving cylinder 222 retains the guide piston 220 anddefines an end cap 224 toward the piston assembly 122. A compressionspring 226 is held between the guide piston 220 and the end cap 224 todampen the energy impressed upon the assembly as waves rock the boat,thereby tending to maintain contact between the rod 120 and the bottom130.

A common mishap occurs when anglers leave an anchor deployed with a rodembedded into the bottom 24 and set their boat into motion. With enoughforce, the rod stuck in the bottom may break, or the bracket mountingthe rod may be damaged. The embodiment of FIGS. 14-16 solves thisproblem by changing the way the rod 18 is mounted to the sheave 38.

In this embodiment, extensions 150 are attached to the sheave 38,holding a bracket 152 in between by a bolt 154 and a shear pin 156. Asthe boat and anchor start moving and the rod 18 is still embedded in theground (as shown in FIG. 16), the shear pin 156 shears off to allow thebracket 152 to rotate around the bolt 154. This motion alters the angleat which the rod is set in the bottom until the rod pulls free from thebottom, thus saving the rod 18 from breaking.

The principles, preferred embodiment, and mode of operation of thepresent invention have been described in the foregoing specification.This invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular formsdisclosed, since these are regarded as illustrative rather thanrestrictive. Moreover, variations and changes may be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1. A shallow water anchor system for a fishing boat, the anchorcomprising: an upper arm having a proximal end and a distal end, theproximal end of the upper arm hingedly attached to a hull of the boatwhereby the upper arm is adapted to move between a raised position and alowered position; a lower arm having a proximal end and a distal end,the proximal end of the lower arm hingedly attached to the hull of theboat at a point lower on the boat than the upper arm; a cross beamhingedly attached between the distal end of the upper arm and the distalend of the lower arm; an actuator adapted to move the upper arm betweenthe raised position and the lowered position, the actuator hingedlyattached to the hull of the boat at the proximal end of the lower armand further hingedly attached to the distal end of the upper arm; and arod affixed to the distal end of the lower arm, wherein the rod isadapted to engage the bottom when the upper arm is in the loweredposition.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the actuator ishydraulically operated.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the actuatorcomprises: a hydraulic piston assembly affixed to the hull of the boatat the proximal end of the lower arm, the piston assembly including arod extending therefrom and terminating in a guide piston; a receivingcylinder retaining the guide piston; the receiving cylinder defining anend cap toward the piston assembly; and a compression spring between theguide piston and the end cap.